


My Body Is A Cage

by carereren



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28838469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carereren/pseuds/carereren
Summary: Code:SAH220.Prompt:jongin loves moving kyungsoo things to higher shelfs on purpose in their room and kyungsoo hates him a lot for that.Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction and none of the characters are owned by Swords and Hearts. All creative rights and ownership of this particular work of fiction lie with the respective authors.Author's Note:Writing this has been hectic. I’ve done so many retypes as I changed the story up so many times. I couldn’t really settle in on a proper plot until this monstrous thing was made. I have to admit, I’ve completely deviated from the prompt and have only been using as a sweet little detail on the side, I’m so sorry prompter T.T I hope you still enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Comments: 46
Kudos: 152
Collections: Swords and Hearts 2020





	My Body Is A Cage

I’m standing on a stage

Of fear and self-doubt

It’s a hollow play

But they’ll clap anyway

**_My Body Is A Cage - Arcade Fire_ **

  
  


“I’ve got to tell you, I’ve been to the Philippines and you would  _ not  _ want to be there. Filled with so many poor people. Such a terrifying scene.” Mr. Carraway rumbled. His face red from all the wine he’s consumed. “But I’ll let you in on a secret, young lad. Countries with poor people are ideal for humanitarian work. The media loves watching us helping those fools.”

Kyungsoo blankly looks at him and plasters on a small smile, a little nod to accompany it. He looks down at his plate and continues to cut out bite-sized pieces of his steak. 

He’d love nothing more than to reach out and punch Mr. Carraway on the face but his mother wouldn't be too pleased with him ruining her fundraiser. She spent a whole month crying in despair, torn whether to choose silver utensils or gold ones.

Mr. Carraway continues to drone on about his nonsensical tirade about how the poor have never done anything to help the country as Kyungsoo slowly took in his surroundings, his hands reaching out to his wine glass to take a small sip.

Everything was too grand for a fundraiser. The ceilings were too high, the ornaments plastered on the walls too exorbitant, the people too full of themselves.

He expected nothing less from his mother.

“Have you heard the latest news about the Kims’ son? He’s basically parading around with different people on his arms. Such a scandal. That family never was one for class and decorum anyway.” Mr. Carraway’s voice boomed. Some people turned to look, saw one look at the wine stain on his coat and turned back to their conversations.

Kyungsoo wants to laugh at the irony of his words but instead remains silent, already thinking up of ways to excuse himself when Baekhyun comes in to save him, literally dragging him away from Mr. Carraway who continues to prattle on about the Kims, seemingly not aware that he has lost his only audience.

“You saved my life!” Kyungsoo dramatically says, voice laced with amusement and exasperation.

Baekhyun laughs, mouth covering his hands, so unlike his laugh when he’s at school. “You could at least pretend to enjoy the party. You’re mother worked hard for this, you know.”

“It’s not a party, it’s a fundraiser.” 

Baekhyun looks at him pointedly, “Correction, it’s a party dressed up as a fundraiser.”

“That is exactly the reason why I can’t bring myself to pretend to enjoy this shit show.” Kyungsoo whispers before taking a glass of whiskey from a passing server, immediately sipping from it.

“Look at you, going all rogue. Is that the teenage rebellion kicking in?” Baekhyun says before taking the glass from him in order to sip from it. He scrunches his nose. “Disgusting.”

“I’m merely misbehaving for the night.” Kyungsoo takes back the glass before sitting down on the bar that they have been heading to, he sits with his back on the bar, facing the party. “She’s been bugging me so much about dating, as of late. It’s starting to annoy me.”

“Are you pulling a Kim Jongin?” Baekhyun teases, situating himself beside Kyungsoo, his back to the room as he sits properly. “And besides, your mother is right. You should really start to focus less on classes and start to date.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he hears the name for the second time that day, wondering what in the hell is wrong with the universe today. Opting to ignore the last thing that Baekhyun said, he asks: “Why is everyone bringing up the Kims?”

“Because Kim Jongin has another scandal.”

Kyungsoo raises a brow. “A scandal?”

“A reporter  _ conveniently  _ stumbled upon him and a woman on a cheap motel.” Baekhyun narrates, voice dull as if he’s tired of saying the same thing over and over again.

Kyungsoo snorts, before throwing back the whiskey, regretting it as soon as the burn hits him in the chest. “All that money and yet he can’t even afford to bring the whore somewhere nice.”

“Such crass language. Your mother would be hysterical if she heard you calling someone a whore.”

“She calls people worse things behind closed doors.” Kyungsoo drawls, eyes immediately latching on to his mother. 

Sometimes, he thinks they’re no better than all the people they look down upon. The only difference is that they have the money to pretend as if they’re living a meaningfully perfect life.

He wonders if that’s the only thing that he’s existence has come down to. A life of meaningless pretending.

  
  


————— oOo —————

  
  


The loud music makes his ears ring, the strobing lights not helping the headache that is forming as he navigates through the teeming sweaty bodies in the living room of Kim Jongdae’s house.

He hates parties. Kyungsoo knows that it was a stupid idea to come here. Telling Baekhyun that he was sick and that he couldn’t come to the blind date that Baekhyun set up for him was one of the dumbest ideas that came out of his mind.

But honestly speaking, being in this smelly party was probably better than being in a pretentious restaurant with some random stranger who his friend called a “perfect” match for him.

The last time Baekhyun called someone a “perfect” match for Kyungsoo, the guy ended up being a closeted catholic kid whose first statement to him the moment they met is “I want you to wear a skirt.”

To say that Kyungsoo ran for his life is an understatement.

He’s too occupied with school nearly starting to have any time for relationships anyway.

“Kyungsoo? Is that you?”

Kyungsoo’s whole body stiffens as Baekhyun’s voice calls out for him from behind. 

And so he does the first thing that came to mind.

He ran.

He bumps into so many people as he continues to run, not wanting to tell Baekhyun that he lied about being sick.

Kyungsoo prays for all the Gods to help him.

Hearing Baekhyun calling out to him from somewhere under the bodies, Kyungsoo goes behind the tallest person he sees standing, ducking down so as to not be seen.

Ducking down was pointless, the stranger probably would have been able to cover his small frame even without the need to duck.

“Excuse me? Are you okay?” a voice asks, concerned.

Kyungsoo assumes that the person asking could only be the man he’s using to hide from Baekhyun.

“Please just let me hide behind your back for just a second. Please.” Kyungsoo practically begs, eyes still shut tight.

“Who, exactly, are you hiding from?” the man asks again.

“Me. He’s hiding from me.” Baekhyun’s voice suddenly pipes up from behind the stranger’s looming form.

Kyungsoo scrunches up his eyes even harder. It seems like the Gods really want him to suffer.

“I’m not hiding from you Baek.” Kyungsoo hollers out, still refusing to step out of the man’s shadow, ducked down in such a ridiculous position that his mother would have been horrified to see him in.

“What are you doing there then? Sucking Kim Jongin’s dick?”

With that, Kyungsoo sharply looks up only to be met by Kim Jongin’s amused stare. 

Due to their families being antagonistic towards each other, Kyungsoo never really had a chance to take a look and observe Kim Jongin from up close.

To say that he’s stunning with his caramel skin and imposing form would be an understatement. The newspaper’s photos of him did not do him justice, nor the long distance glimpses that Kyungsoo has caught of him.

Of all the people in the world that he could’ve hid behind, of course it had to be Kim Jongin.

“I’m Kim Jongin. You are?” Kim Jongin states, a smirk pulling on his lips, obviously finding something incredibly amusing.

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, is not amused. He raises a brow. “Pretending you don’t know me is rude.”

Jongin chuckles shortly, “I’m only asking for your name to be polite. That’s what your family is known for, isn’t it? Being polite and playing nice for the media.”

“And yours is known for being scandalous.”

“Mine is known for not giving a fuck about what other people think.” Jongin smiles, voice condensing.

“I hate to interrupt on this heated conversation that you’re having but would you excuse us for a bit?” Baekhyun suddenly pipes up, addressing Jongin.

Both Kyungsoo and Jongin fixed their gaze on him, turned back to each other with a full glare before Jongin turned around and left, and Kyungsoo went to fully face Baekhyun.

“What the hell was that?” Baekhyun gesticulates with his hands, pointing towards Jongin’s retreating back.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Baekhyun pauses to look at him before rolling his eyes, “So you just met Kim Jongin for the first time and the first thing you do is go at each other’s throats?”

Kyungsoo walks away, aware that Baekhyun would be following him. “What did you expect? I’m a Do. He’s a Kim. Of course we’d go at each other’s throats.”

Baekhyun scoffs and sarcastically mutters, “Is this Romeo and Juliet? Is someone making a tv show out of your life?”

Kyungsoo blanches, horrified from being compared to some stupid teenagers who couldn’t reign in their randiness. “First of all, Romeo and Juliet fell in love the moment they saw each other. Second of all, I’m not stupid enough to die for someone that I literally just met.”

“Okay but why, exactly, were you hiding from me in the first place?” Baekhyun grabs a cup with a suspiciously orange drink inside of it and takes a sip. “Oh, this is actually really good.”

“You’re disgusted by fine whiskey from a costly event but enjoy a cheap punch from a university party?” Kyungsoo asks, nose scrunched up from the thought of what horror of a concoction is in the cup. “Anyway, I was hiding from you because I lied about being sick. As you can see, I’m far from sick. I just don’t want you to put me on another blind date again.”

“I’m only looking out for your cold and lonely heart.” Baekhyun harrumphs. “This tastes like orange juice. That whiskey from your mother’s event tasted like my grandpa would enjoy it.”

“Your taste is despicable,” Kyungsoo says underneath his breath.

“You say that, but I know you’re just trying to hide your sweet tooth behind that old man’s taste of yours.” Baekhyun gripes, eyes drawn on to something behind Kyungsoo. “Isn’t that Park Chanyeol?”

Kyungsoo looks at where he’s staring and sees that it was, indeed, Park Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s been crushing on the guy for literally his entire life.

Kyungsoo gazes at Baekhyun and shoots him a sharp smile before he makes his way towards Park Chanyeol, knowing that Baekhyun would follow him whilst panicking about what he’s about to do.

“Hi,” he says as soon as he’s on the man’s hearing distance. The said man looks down at him, a questioning brow raised. “What’s your favorite word?”

Chanyeol’s brows furrowed before he mutters a befuddled: “Nudes?”

“Great! Kyungsoo smiles up at him and reaches for Baekhyun’s arms and drags him in front of Chanyeol. “That’s his favorite word too! Now, you both can bond over your love for the word—” Kyungsoo traces off uncertainly before continuing with a sure sounding “—Nudes.”.

And with that, Kyungsoo ignores Baekhyun’s sputtering as he walks back towards where the seats are stationed, a smug grin on his face.

The night is still young but it’s already looking up to be a good one.

  
  


————— oOo —————

  
  


Kyungsoo looks up from his book, a knock startling him from his studying. School hasn’t properly started yet as everyone is just settling in for the new school year but Kyungsoo has already studied at least one chapter each for five of his subjects.

He likes to start out early because it guarantees that he’s always prepared.

The door opens up when Kyungsoo fails to answer. Probably his new roommate for the year.

Already eager to make a new impression, Kyungsoo put on his best smile. Halfway through standing up, he freezes the moment his eyes land on his new roommate’s face.

Kim Jongin.

Of course it’s Kim Jongin, given how much the universe hates him.

“There’s no need for you to stand up, it won’t make that much of a difference anyway.” Jongin’s deep voice startles Kyungsoo into sitting down.

Kyungsoo knows that there is a ninety percent probability that Kim Jongin is his new roommate but he still asks, hoping to the Gods that he’s wrong. “What are you doing here?”

“This is my room,” Jongin snaps. “Are you also gonna ask me what my name is? Or why I’m breathing?” He drops his things on the floor, eyes wandering around the room, taking it in.

“No, but I’ll definitely appreciate it if you stopped.” Kyungsoo drawls, turning back to his books.

Kim Jongin isn’t worth wasting his time on.

“Stop what?” Jongin asks, stopping his visual inspection of the room and opts to stare at the back of Kyungsoo’s head instead.

“Breathing.”

Jongin lets out a loud scathing laugh. “Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh, sweetheart?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“I can call you whatever I want, sweetheart.”

Kyungsoo grits his teeth, already starting to feel a headache coming. He ignores Jongin and resolutely stares at his books.

“Can I take that side of the room?” Jongin suddenly speaks out, pointing to Kyungsoo’s side of the room, a hint of a smirk on the side of his lips.

“I’ve already settled in. If you don’t like your side of the room, feel free to sleep outside or to ask for a room transfer.”

“You sound so eager to get rid of me.”

“I do, don’t I? What a surprise.”

“It’s actually a surprise, considering how you looked so love struck with me at Sehun's party.”

Kyungsoo snapped his head in Kim’s direction, a frown set in place. “Maybe you should try deflating your ego for a little bit.”

“Oh, come on. I’ve been with many people. I know how someone looks when they’re attracted to me.” Jongin smugly states and walks towards Kyungsoo, his hands in his pockets.

“You should really deflate that ego of yours. It’s a wonder how anyone can stand being in the same room as you.” Kyungsoo turned his back on Jongin, eyes staring at the words on his book, trying to drown out his loud erratic heartbeat.

“Are you really just gonna pretend you’re not attracted to me because our parents don’t like each other?” Jongin asks, stopping right in front of Kyungsoo.

“Are you really that desperate for a fuck that you’re willing to sleep with the child of your parents’ enemy?” Kyungsoo spits out, not even bothering to look up from his book as he does so.

A loud silence settles in the room as Jongin continues to do nothing but stare at the back of Kyungsoo’s head.

A few minutes later, Kyungsoo hears the shuffling of things, probably Jongin trying to settle his things down.

He tries to ignore the deafening silence, his eyes hovering over the words in front of him but never really understanding them.

The door to their room bangs close as Kim Jongin leaves.

  
  


————— oOo —————

  
  


At exactly quarter to seven in the morning, Kyungsoo wakes up. Still feeling tired and sleepy, he glances off to Jongin’s side of the room and is surprised to see that he is nowhere to be found.

Kyungsoo would have figured that Jongin would not be a morning person, especially when he came in so late last night that Kyungsoo was already tucked in on his bed. To say that he’s surprised about Jongin waking up early is downplaying it.

He has kept on grumbling to himself the whole night, thinking about how unlucky he was to have been roomed with the idiot. On the upside, he’ll never see Jongin’s face first thing in the morning because the asshole seems to wake up earlier than him. With this thought in mind, his mood turns up for the better.

He hums as he stretches his body, fixes his bed, and goes to the bathroom, ready to brush his teeth.

Only to find out that the cup that contained his toothbrush has been repositioned and is placed on the highest shelf.

A shelf that he cannot reach.

Kyungsoo closes his eyes, praying to the universe for more patience. God knows he’d need it even more now that he’s living with Kim fucking Jongin.

  
  


————— oOo —————

  
  


Kyungsoo stares up at the book “Dune”, a heavy tome that’s meant to be an introduction to a great series, one that’s currently too high up on the library shelves for him to reach.

It’s not that it’s physically impossible for him to reach it, after all, he can already come up with dozens of ways on how he’ll be able to reach the said book. It’s just that there’s no way he would be able to reach the book without having to look ridiculous in front of everyone, especially considering that their school does not have library ladders. 

Everyone knowing that you’re short is embarrassing, seeing them watch you struggle to reach high things is another level of embarrassment. 

One that he  _ definitely  _ does not want to go through. 

He settles for a sigh coupled with a longing look directed at the book, intending to move on to the next book on his list when he bumps into a solid chest.

“Easy there, midget.”

Knowing who it is even without looking up, Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, already imagining hundreds of ways to kill a person without alerting the authorities.

“Were you trying to reach that book?” the person he bumped into grabs Dune and stares at it, lips pulled into a shit-eating grin. “Reaching for this wasn’t too hard, but for a vertically challenged person, I’m guessing it’s a hard task.” 

Kyungsoo looks up at Kim Jongin, glare already in place. “Good job reaching for the book but I doubt you’d be able to understand the content of it anyway, especially since jocks like you only have air stored up there, right?”

“You’d think that for someone with your IQ, your head would make you float. It’s perfect. Your head would grow big and you’d float up and that way, it’d be easier for you to reach the top shelves, wouldn’t it?”

Kyungsoo, about to tell him that he’s unintentionally complimenting him, was unable to do so when Byun Baekhyun calls out his name cheerfully.

A little too cheerfully for the school librarian’s taste who immediately shushes them.

“Kyungsoo! There you are! Mr. Song was looking for you. He asked about this month’s publish.” Baekhyun says as he loops his arms on Kyungsoo’s, dragging him away from Jongin.

“Mr. Song is probably gonna ask you about your geeky little book club.” Jongin calls out.

This earns him another hushing from the librarian and a middle finger from Do Kyungsoo.

“I really don’t understand how you put up with him if he’s that much of an asshole to you.” says Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo looks at him as if he’s stated something so utterly stupid.

“I don’t want to put up with him, I literally have no choice. He’s my assigned roommate. I can’t just ask the dorm manager to let me change roommates. I don’t want Mrs. Lee to think I’m annoying, it leaves a bad impression on the school staff.” Kyungsoo states, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “And besides, you’re the one dating his best friend, aren’t you?”

Baekhyun gasps overdramatically, one hand pressed up on his chest as if hurt, “Are you insinuating that my boyfriend is anything like that manwhore Kim Jongin?”

Kyungsoo hums in agreement.

His best friend huffs hard, “Chanyeol is the sweetest person to ever exist in the world. Sure, he may be bullheaded at times, but that’s just because Jongin’s his best friend. He caught Jongin’s rashness, you know?”

“You’ve only been dating for a few days and you’re already acting like you’ve been dating for years.” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath before adding, “Also, are you really blaming Kim Jongin for your boyfriend’s lack of self control?” 

Baekhyun turns to him, an eyebrow raised and a small smirk on the corner of his mouth, “Defending your enemy now, are you?”

Kyungsoo scoffs, turning his head away from Baekhyun’s unwavering stare. “Don’t be stupid, he’s not my enemy. Sure, our families have disliked each other for years. Doesn’t make him an enemy though. He’s just an annoying…  _ creature  _ that I happen to live with.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“He gets on my nerves a lot, though. He placed one of my Thursday socks on the highest shelf in our room. On the first day of being roommates with him, he placed my toothbrush up on the highest shelf in the bathroom.” Kyungsoo grumbles, pushing open the door to the school publication’s office.

A few other members of the school publication take a glance at them but immediately turn back to their own business when Kyungsoo begins shooting out glares.

“Thursday socks?” Baekhyun asks, voice laced with skepticism and a sense of bewilderedness. 

“I like to be organized.” Kyungsoo cuts, sitting down on his chair and immediately going through the things that he needs to look over.

The publication needs to publish an article every month and for this particular month, they have yet to do that.

“Through labeling your socks in days?” Baekhyun asks again, a smile starting to tug on his lips.

“That’s not the point, Baek!” Kyungsoo snaps, eyes trying but failing to focus on his work. Again.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes,seemingly tired of having the same conversation over and over again. “Okay, so Jongin is tormenting you again, what’s new?”

“He’s annoying.”

“He’s always annoying.” Baekhyun places his chin on his hands, body turned towards Kyungsoo to clearly see him better. “I really don’t get how you guys turned from “We’re fucking each other through our eyes to hating each other, in just one minute.”

“We weren’t fucking each other through our eyes.” Kyungsoo tries to fight off a blush that he can feel is already spreading.

“Sure, and Chanyeol and I aren’t together.” Baekhyun stated, half sarcastic and half with pride in his voice.

Kyungsoo scoffs and pulls an envelope that contains the month’s concept of their school newspaper. “Your boyfriend’s a saint for being able to put up with that asshole. I can’t believe they’re friends.”

“Sometimes, Chanyeol defends Jongin too much.” Baekhyun’s lips pull down into a frown, his brow furrows. “We got into a heated argument about Jongin, actually.”

Kyungsoo raises a brow. “What about?”

“I told him his friend was an asshole. He said Jongin isn’t that bad and proceeded to say something that didn’t sit well with me.”

“What did he say?”

Baekhyun looks away from him, slowly shaking his head. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. What did he say?” Kyungsoo asks, already feeling like he knows what Chanyeol said.

“He said that maybe it’s you who’s too uptight. I told him maybe Jongin’s really just an asshole.”

Kyungsoo smiles wearily, eyes shutting close as he sighed. “Maybe I  _ am  _ too uptight.”

“You’re not. Jongin’s just an asshole.”

Kyungsoo opens his eyes, immediately spotting a speck of dirt on the table, mind already mulling about needing to remove that one speck.

He’s bothered by a speck on a table. Maybe he really  _ is  _ too uptight.

“Hey, you okay?”

Kyungsoo snaps out of his musings, turning so that he’s properly facing Baekhyun.

“I’m fine, just had a late night yesterday and then tried to cram the whole chapter on the hallway earlier because Kim kept on grumbling about how the light on the room is too bright for him to fall asleep.”

“You call him by his last name? Really?” Baekhyun mutters.

“Calling him Jongin feels too personal.” Kyungsoo says, hands reaching out to the envelope again, resuming his reading.

“Well,” Baekhyun starts, a cheeky grin forming on his face, as he covers the paperwork in front of Kyungoo with his hands. “You’re really laying the whole ‘our families are rivals” on thick.”

“I’m not. It’s just the truth.” Kyungsoo counters sourly, snatching the paper from under Baekhyun’s hands.

“It’s okay, Soo.” Baekhyun giggles a little bit. “It’s okay to have a crush.”

“Stop talking nonsense.” Kyungsoo replies, eyes glued on to the paperwork in front of him, fighting off a blush that he knows is already spreading for the second time that day.

  
  


————— oOo —————

  
  


Kyungsoo ignores his continuously ringing phone, and jumps up again, trying to take his favorite stuffed animal from Jongin’s outstretched hands.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” Jongin asks, eyes on Kyungsoo’s ringing phone on the bed.

Kyungsoo growls and jumps up again, almost grasping the stuffed dog before Jongin pulls it away on the last second. “It’s none of your business. Just give me back my Nini.”

“This dog’s name is Nini?” Jongin grins, looking at the dog while still holding it up high. “My family calls me Nini.”

“That’s not funny!” Kyungsoo fights off the urge to shudder at the thought of having named his stuffed animal after Kim Jongin.

“It’s true! Nini is my nickname.” Jongin beamed at Kyungsoo, waving his arms that’s holding the stuffed animal around, “I’ve got a name twin now.”

“What are you, five?” Kyungsoo lets out a small huff before jumping up on his bed, ready to jump down from the bed towards Jongin in order to take his favorite toy from him.

When Kyungsoo’s jumping on the bed does not work (Jongin moved just in time and dodged Kyungsoo’s body), Jongin lets out a small “Ha!” accompanied with a mocking, “What are you, five?”

Kyungsoo considers punching the taller one in order to take his toy from him but before he could act on it, his phone begins ringing again.

Gritting his teeth and trying not to show his frustration, Kyungsoo answers his phone, reminding himself to keep his back on Jongin who’s still very much playing with his stuffed animal.

How he got his hands on that, Kyungsoo will never know.

“Hello?” Kyungsoo greets, annoyance clearly lacing his voice.

[Is that how you greet your mother after many days of not visiting, nor even just calling her?] Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, having no energy to spend on dealing with his mothers drama.

“Mom, I already told you that I’m busy with schoolworks.”

[You could have at least tried to answer my calls! I’ve called you so many times and yet you only answer me on my fifth call?]

“I’m telling you, I’m busy. Besides, I already know what you’re gonna say and my answer is no. I do not want to go on a date that you set up with one of your  _ amigas _ daughters.”

[But Cheryl is a very lovely lady!]

“I’m gay, mom. How many times am I ever gonna tell you that before you start accepting it as the truth?”

His mom went quiet for a few beats.

[I’ll set you up with a guy then.]

Kyungsoo sighed, exasperated and admittedly, just so tired. “I don’t want you to set me up. I can find someone to date on my own.”

His mother hung up on him, not even bothering to say goodbye.

Too mentally exhausted and completely forgetting that he’s not alone, Kyungsoo plops himself down on his bed, eyes closed as he tries to calm himself down.

For five days straight, his parents have been bothering him non stop about setting him up on a date. Even Baekhyun seems to be doing it more often lately. It’s slightly unnerving to have so many people try to meddle in to his personal problems.

He appreciates the effort but he really does  _ not  _ need it.

Jongin clears his throat, causing Kyungsoo to sit up on the bed, having completely forgotten that he’s not alone.

“So, do you wanna piss off your parents?” Jongin asks, his hands throwing the stuffed animal from one hand to the next.

Kyungsoo narrows his eyes, very much suspicious by the sudden curiosity. “Why are you asking?”

Jongin shrugs and throws the stuffed animal at Kyungsoo, who manages to catch Nini just in time and tightly grips it to his chest. “Because I enjoy pissing off my parents and I just wanted to say that if you do—” Jongin plops down on his own bed, body slightly facing towards Kyungsoo. “—want to piss off your parents, I mean, I’d totally understand.”

Kyungsoo tries to understand Jongin’s reasoning behind telling him about this particular information. Kyungsoo is completely suspicious of Jongin but is also curious to know why he gives his parents so much headache.

It’s always been splattered across newspapers and the media that the Kim family’s only son, Kim Jongin, is infamous for getting into messy scandals and fights.

But nobody really has said any reason why the Kim heir has seemingly gone rogue and Kyungsoo wants to know the reason as to why.

“I don’t want to piss off my parents. I’m not like you.” Kyungsoo says, unable to meet Jongin’s unusually earnest eyes.

“Not like me, huh.” Jongin mutters as he looks away from Kyungsoo and instead stares at the ceiling. “Not like me.” he whispers one more time before letting the silence reign in on them.

————— oOo —————

There’s only so much excuse you can use in order to avoid your parents before you run out of them. 

The school work excuse, his mother deemed that he used too much and said that he could take a break which led him to reluctantly agreeing to meet up with them for a little dinner.

Adamally’s is quiet and has an air of laziness around it, as if all the people dining at the restaurant expected themselves to do nothing but bask in the glory of being able to boss around people who’re waiting for their hand and foot. 

It’s high ceilings are donned with golden lights, giving the whole place an ethereal quality to it. It’s glass walls are lined with heavy drapes, giving the illusion of privacy from the outside. People talked quietly, some laughing as demurely as possible so as to not disturb other people.

A short woman with a slicked back bun on her head approaches Kyungsoo, holding with her a black clipboard that matches well with her formal dress. “May I ask for your name?”

“Do Kyungsoo.” Kyungsoo answers curtly, preferring to be seated as soon as possible, his social anxiety spiking up from having to deal with people who are unfamiliar to him.

The woman smiles at him and spreads out one of her arms, indicating for him to follow. He does as told and follows the woman to the back portion, the space more private than all the others.

Kyungsoo glances around, eyes trying to find his parents. When the woman stops short in front of a man he doesn’t know, Kyungsoo frowns at her in confusion.

Before he can object that he’s probably been led to the wrong table, the man stands up, holding up one hand, the other on his back. 

“You must be Kyungsoo.” the man says, his accent heavy and unfamiliar to Kyungsoo.

Not wanting to be called rude, Kyungsoo presses his hand on the hands of the stranger, intending to shake it, when the man suddenly brings Kyungsoo’s hand to his lips, smiling quite alluringly as he did so.

It suddenly dawns on Kyungsoo what his parents have done.

“My name is Elliot,” the man speaks again, snapping Kyungsoo out of his realization. “I am french so my accent is quite heavy. Please forgive me if you have a hard time understanding some of what I say.” the man—Elliot, continues to prattle on, sitting down as he does.

Kyungsoo follows suit, mind still finding it hard to believe how stupid he’d been to trust his mother.

“Kyungsoo?” Elliot softly calls out.

Kyungsoo snaps his head and looks at the man, embarrassed at being a bad date early on.

And this  _ is  _ a date.

His parents, knowing full well that he did not want them to set him up, asked him to meet them in Adamally’s and decided that it’s a good idea to send a man he doesn’t know to have dinner with him.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been completely caught off guard.” Kyungsoo says, intending to explain his parents' schemes but stopped short when Elliot laughs rather joyously.

“Oh, no need to flatter me! I know I’m a looker but no one has ever said that they are completely off guard with my beauty when meeting me.” Elliot says excitedly, animatedly gesticulating with his hands, even to go as far as pointing himself as if to further say that he’s talking about himself.

Kyungsoo stares at him, completely off-guard for all the wrong reasons. He wants to point out that he wasn’t necessarily talking about his  _ beauty _ but thinks that it would be extremely rude.

Hence, Kyungsoo decides to stay silent for the whole night, preferring to nod and smile along with the man, so in love with himself that he’s gone on about his hair for the whole meal.

Believe it or not.

Kyungsoo, too pissed and angry at being played by his mother, rejects the man’s offer of a second dessert, insisting that he’s full and states that he just had the best meal he’s ever had in his entire life.

Elliot positively beamed and has let him go without any further fuss.

As soon as he gets in a car, he immediately tries to call his mother, to no avail. His mother can’t even be bothered to pick up her phone because she knows Kyungsoo will throw a fuss about the fact that they tricked him into going on a date.

Fuming and positively livid, Kyungsoo slams the door on his way to their room in the dorms and proceeds to stand in front of Kim Jongin.

Who is currently halfway in through a shirt, with his head poking out and his arms awkwardly stuck on the arm holes.

“Uh,” Jongin’s eyes slide to the left and right, seemingly looking for a reason why Kyungsoo has come up to him. “Hi?”

“I want to piss off my parents.” Kyungsoo says furiously, not even blinking an eye on Jongin’s ridiculous position.

Jongin fully puts on his shirt, looking at Kyungsoo warily as if afraid he’s going to strike and bite anytime soon. “I need a better context than that.”

“My parents, probably my mom, set me up on a blind date when I’ve been repeatedly telling her that I do not want to partake in it. I need your help in pissing off my parents.” Kyungsoo explains further, mouth set in a determined line.

“I have an idea but if you don’t like it, just say so.” Jongin says cautiously, never quite managing to sound confident when faced with such an angry looking Kyungsoo.

“Out with it.”

“We go out together.” Jongin blurts out, slowly leaning on the table on his side of the room, eyes never quite leaving Kyungsoo.

“Go out?” the shorter mutters confusedly.

“We date each other. We go out on a date to horrify them,” Jongin explains. “A fake date.”

Kyungsoo furrows his brows, heartbeat unusually fast at the taller’s suggestion. “What’s the point of fake dating?” He crosses his arms across his chest.

Jongin chuckles a little before repositioning, choosing to sit on the table instead. “One, you get them off of your back. They stop setting you up on dates because they will think you already have someone you’re dating.” Jongin holds up a finger and then holds up another one before saying, “And two, you get to piss them off because it’s me.”

Kyungsoo shifts on his feet, not liking how giddy he’s feeling with the prospect of what Jongin is suggesting. “So, we go out on a fake date?”

“Yup,” Jongin says, the ‘p’ popping as he does, a hint of a soft smile tugging on his lips, not anymore wary seeing as how the shorter one seemed to have relaxed. “Unless you’re scared.”

Kyungsoo huffs, uncrossing his arms and placing them both on each side of his waist instead. “I’m not.”

“You are,” Jongin starts. “You’re afraid of pissing off mommy and daddy.”

“Don’t call them that! And I’m not scared.” Kyungsoo grumbles, mind already churning at the thought of how his parents are gonna react.

“I can always read your emotions in your face, Do Kyungsoo.” Jongin mutters, eyes tracing Kyungsoo’s face.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, ignoring Jongin as he weighs in the pros and cons.

On one hand, Jongin is completely right, he’d be able to piss off his parents and would be able to get them off of his back regarding the setting up situation. On the other hand, the only con he can ever see, is also a pro. He’ll be pissing off his parents.

Decision made, Kyungsoo raises his chin stiffly, eyes locking on to Jongin’s.

“Let’s do it.”

————— oOo —————

  
  


Kyungsoo, laying down in his bed, thinks about what he’s agreed to, a stupid plan that will probably backfire on him one day. No matter how stupid the plans sounds, he can’t quite deny that it’ll do its duty of pissing off his parents.

And right now, there’s nothing in the world that Kyungsoo wants to do more than that.

“Are you awake?” Jongin softly asks, startling Kyungsoo from his musings.

“I am.” Kyungsoo answers, voice small and sounding unsure.

He hears a shuffling on Jongin’s side. “What’s on your mind? I can practically hear you thinking.”

Kyungsoo looks at the ceiling, tracing in the wooden patterns as he says, “We should probably make up a story about how we started dating.”

Silence follows as they both took in the implications of what they have to do because of their agreement. After a second, Jongin pushes out of his bed, Kyungsoo’s eyes following him as he grabs a coat from his closet.

“Take a coat. We’re going out.” Jongin says with a tone of finality.

Kyungsoo sits up a little. “In the middle of the night?”

“We’re not leaving the campus. Just out of the dorms.” Jongin explains as if that makes his suggestion better.

Skeptical but curious as to where they are going, Kyungsoo stands up and takes a coat, following Jongin as he leads the way.

They leave the dorm building in nothing but their pyjamas and coats, quietly walking through the darkness of the campus.

No matter how dark the place is, the stars and the moon dimly light up the road. The refreshingly cold but clean air, Kyungsoo welcomes with open arms.

Jongin stops in the soccer field.

Specifically, on the soccer field’s bleachers.

Kyungsoo looks around, noting how the dark place is lit up by a small lamp post to the side of the left wing seats. “Isn’t someone guarding this place?”

“No guards come here at this hour. They always check up on here at exactly nine in the evening.” Jongin answers, sitting down at one of the chairs.

Kyungsoo instinctively checks his wrist, intending to check his watch for the time, only to remember that he’s not wearing one. He follows Jongin instead and sits down a few seats away from him. “What time is it?”

“Exactly midnight.”

Kyungsoo nods, pulling his coat closer to his body, cold already creeping in on him. “Why are we here?”

Jongin turns his head to him, his body on a slouch in the seat. “You wanted to talk about the story of how we started dating, right?”

“The story of how we started fake dating, yes.” Kyungsoo corrects him, sitting stiff and upright on his own seat. “We need a concrete story with no holes in it.”

“Where do you want to start?” Jongin asks, eyes gazing into the dark field.

“With how we met, I guess?” Kyungsoo answers unsurely.

“In school.” Jongin says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Or at that party.”

“Okay, so how did we start to date?” Kyungsoo retorts, slightly glancing at Jongin, only to pause when he catches Jongin already staring at him.

“I pursued you.” Jongin immediately replies, eyes unwavering as he stares at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo feels his face burning which is why he quickly looks away. “Would that even be convincing?”  _ Given your reputation of changing your men and women like you change your clothes.  _ Kyungsoo wants to say but does not.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Jongins asks curiously. Kyungsoo only looks at him shortly, as if expecting him to know the answer to his own question. “Ah.” he softly says, a dry laugh escaping his lips.

Silence settles on the air around them as no one says anything. Kyungsoo, looking down at his lap, wonders whether he’s offended Jongin because of his implication.

“No one would really believe that I pursued you because of how much I sleep around. That’s what you mean, right?” Kyungsoo, about to shake his head, stops and nods instead, figuring out that lying to Jongin about that wouldn’t be right. “I guess I just have to convince them with my act of being besotted with you then.”

Kyungsoo, not knowing what to say, moves on from the topic instead. “What,” Kyungsoo starts, voice caught on his throat. “What made you realize that you wanted to pursue me?”

Jongin chuckles. “You don’t have to sound so nervous. It’s fake.” Jongin says, stands up and stretches out his arms. “I wanted to pursue you because I found you interesting.” He starts walking away.

Kyungsoo remains seated, eyes following Jongin’s retreating back.

The thought of Jongin pursuing him because he found him interesting, even though it’s not real, leaves his stomach churning.

He stops himself from digging deeper into that thought and so he gets up and follows Jongin instead.

————— oOo —————

  
  


“Remember, I confessed to you yesterday.” Jongin whispers into his ears, the two of them devoid of any sense of personal space, as Baekhyun and Chanyeol head towards them.

Kyungsoo is pressed up on Jongin’s side, the latter’s arm gripping Kyungsoo’s waist almost too naturally. People in the cafeteria are turning and staring. Kyungsoo wills the heat of his face away, hoping to all the Gods that his face does not give them away to Baekhyun later.

The both of them decided that they should start the “reveal” with Baekhyun and Chanyeol first, seeing as how the two are their closest friends. If they can fool the two, making their parents believe that they’re dating will be a breeze.

“Are you guys—” Baekhyun stops right in front of them, eyes looking back and forth between the two. “—okay?”

“More than.” Kyungsoo forces a bright smile.

Jongin looks at him and pinches his waist. “Not too much.” he whispers.

Kyungsoo clears his throat and looks down at the table, cheeks flushing.

Chanyeol struts up to them, arms laden with plates, a big smile on his face as he puts down one plate on the table to clap Jongin in the back. “I told you, you had a chance!”

Kyungsoo looks at Jongin with a raised brow.

Jongin coughs loud, eyes unable to meet Kyungsoo. “Yeah, thanks Yeol.”

Baekhyun squints down at the both of them. Chanyeol had to force him to sit down, his eyes looking at the both of them calculatedly. “What happened?”

“Nothing—” Kyungsoo says at the same time that Jongin says: “We’re together now.”

They look at each other for a second, before turning back to Chanyeol and Baekhyun, smiles on their faces.

“I don’t buy it.” Baekhyun says, eyes still narrowed as he took an apple from Chanyeol’s plate. “Just a few days ago, Kyungsoo still calls you by your last name because he thinks that calling you by Jongin is too personal.”

“I call him by Jongin!” Kyungsoo exclaims, eyes panicking as they settle in on Jongin’s. “Right, Jongin?”

“He doesn’t.” Jongin drawls, a smug smirk on his face. “He calls me ‘honey’ but he’s too embarrassed to admit to it.” Jongin turns to look at Kyungsoo who’s glaring at him. He smiles and taunts him even more. “Right, sweetheart?”

“You are so dead.” Kyungsoo whispers threateningly.

“Aw, look at them. They’re even teasing each other.” Chanyeol rambles, the big goofy smile still not leaving his face. “So Jongin, what did you do?”

“What do you mean what did I do?” 

“What did you do? Why are you guys together now? Who made—“ Chanyeol waggles his brows. “—the first move.”

Kyungsoo opens his mouth, about to say Jongin’s name when Jongin pipes up first.

“I did.” Jongin says and turns to look at Kyungsoo. “Had to bribe the dorm manager to be placed in the same room as him.”

Kyungsoo’s head snaps towards Jongin, the latter quickly looks away and takes a sip of his milk.

_ It’s not real. _ Kyungsoo reminds himself, forcing his heartbeat to a more stable rhythm.

“That’s some dedication, right there.” Chanyeol comments as he stuffs his face with fries.

“Let’s have a double date, then.” Baekhyun suddenly suggests, eyes filled with mirth, as he finishes his apple. “To make sure this is not just some sort of elaborate prank.”

Kyungsoo’s heart skips a beat, his whole body freezing. “Sure.” Kyungsoo says , forcing his voice to sound sure, the fear of being caught keeping his voice from wavering as he tries his hardest not to flinch under his best friend’s sharp knowing gaze. “A double date, it is.”

“Great!” Baekhyun beams before standing up. “I’m leaving early. I have to cram a chapter’s worth for a quiz.” he leans down to kiss Kyungsoo’s cheeks. “Tell me more about it later, okay?”

“I will.” Kyungsoo smiles at Baekhyun.

Chanyeol stands up, having stuffed his last fries in his mouth, and follows Baekhyun out of the cafeteria.

As soon as they’re out of vision, Jongin holds Kyungsoo by the arms and turns him so that they’re facing each other. “A double date? Really?”

“It’s a good idea! I’m sure Baekhyun’s gonna want an outdoor date or something. This way, there’s a bigger likelihood of someone spotting us.”. Kyungsoo tries to justify. “Our parents are gonna hear about it and that’s the point of this whole thing, isn’t it?” Kyungsoo’s arms waver in the space between them. “To piss our parents off.”

Jongin stares at him for a few seconds before dropping his hands on Kyungsoo’s arms. He closes his eyes and moves away from Kyungsoo. “Right. To piss off our parents.” Jongin mutters before going back to his food, eyes not once meeting Kyungsoo’s through the whole meal.

  
  


————— oOo —————

  
  


Kyungsoo clasps his seatbelt tighter to his chest, breath speeding up as Jongin swerves the car to the left.

They’re heading towards the amusement park to meet up with Chanyeol and Baekhyun. And of course they’re going to the amusement park, it’s  _ Baekhyun _ . Kyungsoo, not fond of heart-stopping rides, dreads having to stay at the amusement park all day.

Kyungsoo snaps out of his musings when Jongin presses on the break a little too abruptly. “For fuck’s sake, can’t you drive a little more carefully?”

Jongin throws him a smirk, eyes still latched on the road. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“Sure, because the prospect of dying is  _ so _ fun.” Kyungsoo retorts sarcastically, holding one hand up on the car’s dashboard.

He’s not one to enjoy “thrills” and “exciting” things. He’d rather stay in his bed all day, reading and studying with his cup of iced coffee, than to go outside and move around. When he told Jongin as much, the taller man implied that he’s a big sack of potatoes disguised as a human being.

Kyungsoo’s not really that happy with how accurate Jongin has described him.

“You could use a little bit of ‘fun’. Deviate away from your normal schedule of sleeping and studying.” Jongin comments, sneaking a look at him before turning his eyes back to the road. “Stop being a vertically challenged goblin for a second.”

Kyungsoo would have hit him right then and there, were it not for the fact that Jongin is driving and doing that could easily kill them both.

There’s a noticeable pattern, Kyungsoo’s not fond of the idea of dying.

“Shut up, it’s not like you’re the most fun person in the world either.”

“I’m fun.” Jongin glanced at him quickly, a small smile on his lips. “I’m part of the school’s soccer team and I go to parties a lot. I’m also part of the school’s dance group.”

Kyungsoo raises both of his brows, a laugh threatening to break out from his throat. “You are?” he asks incredulously.

“What, you think I’m joking?” Jongin rushes out.

“I think you can’t dance.” 

Jongin barks a laugh, the car swerving slightly, making Kyungsoo grip his seat, his feet digging harder on the car’s floor.

“I’m a very good dancer.”

“I don’t believe that.” Kyungsoo states, shaking his head as he does. “But, I do believe that you’re not the most modest.”

Jongin laughs loudly, sounding so free as if he doesn’t have any worries. Kyungsoo cracks a smile, chest feeling warm at the unexpected openness that the taller is suddenly showing.

The both of them spend the rest of the car ride in silence, the only one breaking it is the low volume “In the Mood” blasting in on the car and the occasional banter that they engage themselves in.

Kyungsoo has never felt this relaxed in a whole while.

As soon as they arrive, they immediately see Baekhyun and Chanyeol by the entrance, talking and patiently waiting for them.

Jongin finds a parking spot, parks the car and turns the ignition off. They move out of the car and head towards Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Kyungsoo, about to wave to Baekhyun, stops abruptly when Jongin promptly holds his hands.

Kyungsoo moves to stare at Jongin but the taller refuses to meet his eyes and instead starts dragging Kyungsoo towards Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Slow down! I can’t keep up with your stride.” Kyungsoo calls out and resorts to jogging in order to keep up with Jongin’s fast paced long legged walk.

Jongin turns to look at him funny. “Do you need to wear a roller skate to keep up with me?”

“No!” Kyungsoo huffs, his mouth forming a small pout, as he digs his feet on the ground, refusing to budge. “I’m not that short. You’re really just so tall and you walk fast too!”

“Do you need me to carry you so we’d reach them faster?” Jongin teasingly suggests to him.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at him, his lips forming into a slight curve. “Don’t suggest things you can’t do.” He continues to walk, hands pulling Jongin along with him.

“I can do it!” Jongin exclaims as they reach Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Do what?” Baekhyun asks, a smug smile on his face as he looks at Kyungsoo and Jongin’s hands.

“Carry him.” Jongin answers. He removes his hand from Kyungsoo’s and places his elbows on Kyungsoo’s shoulders, all the while grinning.

Kyungsoo slaps Jongin’s elbows from his shoulders, frowning up at him. “I’m not an armrest!”

Sometimes, he loathes the height difference between the two of them.

Baekhyun points at them and turns to Chanyeol. “You never tried to carry me!”

“You never asked, babe.” Chanyeol huffs, arms wrapping around Baekhyun’s waist. He indicates his head towards the booth that’s selling the entrance tickets. “Let’s go?”

Kyungsoo stares up at the rides that he can see peeking from the gates, heart beat going insane as his nervousness clams up his hands.

He looks down when Jongin slides his hands on his own again. Kyungsoo’s eyes move up and finds Jongin staring back at him, a comforting smile on his face as he slowly tugs Kyungsoo towards the entrance. “Let’s go.”

And so they spend the rest of the day running around the place. Kyungsoo’s nervousness only lasts around the first ride, all the rides that came after that were met with his screaming, hands gripping Jongin’s tightly everytime a ride goes a little too fast for his liking.

Kyungsoo, unexpectedly, enjoys the rides more than he would care to admit. The sudden thrill of being plunged down from the drop tower makes his insides turn and forces his mind to think of nothing but the danger of the ride and how much he enjoys it. Jongin’s reassuring presence doesn’t hurt the way he eased into the idea of scary rides either.

It’s unexpected, but not necessarily unwelcome.

Baekhyun suddenly tells Chanyeol and Jongin to ride the viking, a ride that looks like a pirate ship that swings from one side to another. The two tall men immediately agreed, practically bouncing up and down from the excitement.

“I’ll see you later?” Jongin asks, hands squeezing Kyungsoo’s hard, eyes locked in with Kyungsoo’s.

Kyungsoo giggles slightly, slowly shaking his head. “The ride only takes ten minutes, Jongin. And we’re watching you guys from down here.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Jongin says petulantly. “Sweetheart, we don’t know if I’ll even make it out alive from that ride.” Jongin exclaims dramatically, gesticulating frantically towards the vikings, eyes looking crazed before he breaks out of character and laughs.

Kyungsoo fondly rolls his eyes. “I’m sure you’ll be fine,  _ honey. _ ” He says teasingly before he snickers. “Now go, and ride that thing  _ my mighty pirate. _ ” Kyungsoo waves him away and watches him go.

“Aye aye, my sweetheart. Arrr!” Jongin calls out, unashamed. Some people turn their head to look at him weirdly but he pays them no heed as he grins widely.

“He’s so stupid.” Kyungsoo mutters to himself, unable to stop himself from smiling at Jongin’s silliness.

“Look who’s enamored.” Baekhyun pipes up, hooking his arms on Kyungsoo’s, a proud smirk in place.

“I’m not.” Kyungsoo says, face and ears immediately turning red.

“Doesn’t matter.” Baekhyun says and fixes him with a look. “As long as you’re happy.”

“Happy is a very big word.” Kyungsoo voices out, eyes locked on Jongin’s arms waving out at him from the ride that hasn’t started yet. He sees an amusement park’s staff berate Jongin about waving his arms up high in the air. Kyungsoo sniggers, already imagining what Jongin would be saying in retort to the staff. 

Knowing Jongin, he’ll probably say something stupid like “You cannot make me do what you want, Peter Pan!” Kyungsoo suppressed a laugh from the thought, eyes still fixed on Jongin as the ride turned on.

“How did you two get together?” Baekhyun asks curiously before pulling him towards a nearby food stall.

Kyungsoo panics, his mind too frozen and scared of saying the wrong thing and revealing their elaborate lie. “Two corn dogs, please.” He calls out to the person in the stall instead and searches for a bill in order to stall out and think of a reply.

“Well, as he said the other day, he forced the dorm manager to put us in a room together.” He states, remembering Jongin’s quick and intricate lie.

“Yeah but you didn’t get together on the first day you roomed together, did you? As far as I can remember, you hated his guts because he kept on messing up with your things.”

“I did.” Kyungsoo says, keeping his voice calm. He passes on a bill to the person manning the stall and takes the food, giving one to Baekhyun. “He confessed.”

Baekhyun raised a brow. “And you said yes?” He asks dubiously, clearly not believing that he accepted that easily.

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun have known each other their whole life, from the moment they were in diapers, to the moment he’s had chunks of chocolates stuck between his braces in middle school. To say they went through all of the highs and lows together would be an understatement.

They’ve even lied to each other’s parents to cover up for each other.

With years of knowing each other comes the fact that Baekhyun knows Kyungsoo is one stubborn bastard. Being suspicious about Jongin and Kyungsoo’s relationship isn’t uncalled for at all.

Kyungsoo swallowing down his pride and dating the so-called “creature” that he claims to hate, and denies having a crush on? The same Kyungsoo who swallowed a whole goldfish because Kyungsoo’s roommate dared him to?  _ Suspicious.  _ Baekhyun thinks but does not voice out any of these and waits for Kyungsoo’s reply instead.

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo says unsurely. He clears his throat. “He confessed while we were fighting.”

“Where?” Baekhyun, still skeptical, asks.

They slowly walk back to the front of the viking ride, careful to avoid bumping into people as they ate their food.

“On the soccer field.” Kyungsoo blurts out the first place that comes to mind.

“He confessed to you, while you two were fighting,” Baekhyun reiterates. “on the soccer field?”

Kyungsoo nods firmly. “At night.”

Baekhyun hums, nodding his head slowly. “Why didn’t I hear about this if you’ve been dating him for days?”

Kyungsoo takes a bite of his corndog, thinking of a reasonable answer.

“Because we wanted to keep it a secret. You know my mom.” Kyungsoo explains smoothly. “She told me we’d eat at a restaurant. Family dinner, you know the drill,” He looks at Baekhyun and the latter nods. “I came to the restaurant and some dude was waiting for me there.”

Baekhyun regards him with a soft smile. “Well, I’ve never seen you this relaxed before.”

Kyungsoo tilts his head to the side. “I don’t remember the last time I’ve felt this relaxed. This free.”

“Are you happy?” Baekhyun poses the question just as the ride stops. Kyungsoo stops looking at Baekhyun to turn towards the ride instead.

Jongin beams at him, his hair windswept as he walks down towards them. Kyungsoo’s heart starts going haywire, mind repeating the same thing over and over again. 

_ I’ve never been this happy. _

“I think I am.” Kyungsoo whispers his answer to himself as Baekhyun walks to greet Chanyeol back.

“That was crazy!” Chanyeol hollers as he runs towards them. Jongin follows him at a slower pace, grinning at Kyungsoo. 

“How was the ride?” Kyungsoo inquires, staring intently at the collar of Jongin’s shirt, refusing to meet his eyes.

“As Chanyeol eloquently stated, it was crazy.” Jongin answers him, Kyungsoo’s refusal to meet his eyes, not escaping his notice. “Did something happen?” 

Kyungsoo shakes his head and looks away instead, staring at a random person’s cotton candy. “Nothing.”

Jongin unexpectedly holds Kyungsoo’s chin with his hand and tips his head up, forcing Kyungsoo to look at him.

“What’s wrong?” He gently asks again.

Kyungsoo peers at him, trying to ignore the wild churning on his stomach and the erratic beat of his heart. He wants to run around screaming, panic nearly overtaking his whole body as his mind deliberates the possible reason why he’s body is reacting this way.

At the back of his mind, Kyungsoo knows what these things imply but he refuses to acknowledge the thought, tucking it away in a tiny box instead.

“I want cotton candy.” Kyungsoo blurts out.

Jongin guffaws while pointing out that he’s still holding a corndog, unrestrained and sounding so free that Kyungsoo feels something tug on his chest. The taller of the two lets go of Kyungsoo’s chin, Kyungsoo disregards the abrupt twinge of disappointment that eases when Jongin takes his hand instead and yanks him towards a cotton candy stall, not even looking back at Chanyeol and Baekhyun to see if they’re following.

  
  
  


————— oOo —————

  
  


Unsurprisingly, Kyungsoo’s mother hears of the date that happened yesterday.

Seeing as how his family basically owns half of the town, and the Kim’s own the other half, it wasn’t really unexpected when people talk. It’s quite known how the Kims and the Dos never really got along well, the feud stemming from years of competition in the business.

So when people saw the notorious playboy Kim Jongin with picture perfect Do Kyungsoo, people whispered.

Kyungsoo closes his eyes, listening to his mother prattle on about siding with the enemy. She has been going on about Kyungsoo’s lack of respect for their family because of his involvement with a Kim. 

Kyungsoo almost cringes at the absurdity of her words, deeming them dramatic and over the top. He can’t help but want to laugh at the uncanny resemblance between his and Jongin’s family versus the Montague and Capulet. As much as the thought of comparing his family to that fictional family leaves a bad taste in his mouth, he still can’t help but setting the two side by side and seeing the close similarities.

“He’s not a bad influence.” Kyungsoo states exasperatedly, hands rubbing his temples to reduce the headache that came. He resolutely ignores Jongin’s burning stare from his side.

Jongin is lounging on his bed, watching a show on his phone whilst Kyungsoo talks with his mom on the phone, his report for a class on his laptop lying forgotten on his lap as his mom has been lecturing him for the past hour.

[He’s been seen with probably a hundred of his conquests. Who could say you’re not only another notch on his bed?]

Kyungsoo could feel his face burn up as he struggles to come up with an answer that won’t give away what his mother has been talking about to Jongin. “He’s not—” Kyungsoo clears his throat and tries again. “We haven’t done anything like that.” he says as softly as possible, hoping to all the Gods that Jongin has not heard a single thing he’s said.

His prayers are deemed futile when he hears a quiet snicker which is quickly disguised behind a cough from Jongin.

[He has not  _ yet.  _ I know of all the ways of cassanovas like him. They like to prey on innocent young men like you!] 

Kyungsoo groans as he puts his hands on his face, trying to bury his body deeper in the bed. “He’s not preying on me, mom. We’re the same age.” He softly says, still pretending as if Jongin won’t be able to hear the words that he’s been saying. “And I may be a virgin but I’m not innocent.”

Jongin suddenly erupts into a rambunctious laugh. Kyungsoo buries his head on his pillow, lying face down so as to not see Jongin.

[Who was that?]

“Jongin,” Kyungsoo softly answers.

[Are you living together with him? Since when?!] His mother practically  _ shrieks _ .

“I’m not living together with him!” Kyungsoo groans. “I mean, I am! But we’re only sharing a room because we've been roomed together. Not because we’re sharing a flat or something.”

Jongin laughs even louder. Kyungsoo shoots him a glare and throws a pillow at him which the git manages to catch somehow.

[I’m calling your dorm manager. I’ll talk to you later. We’re not done yet, Do Kyungsoo.]

As soon as his mother hangs up, Kyungsoo rounds in on Jongin and hits him with a pillow.

“You were eavesdropping!” he screeches, the pillow repeatedly hitting Jongin’s arms that he’s got up to protect his face.

“But is that really worse than me preying on you?” Jongin says as he guffaws, positively dying as he leans back, trying to avoid Kyungsoo’s hits.

“Stop!” Kyungsoo cries out, face so red he could put a tomato to shame. He stops hitting Jongin and sits down on his own bed instead, body turned towards Jongin. “It’s not funny! It’s so embarrassing. I can’t believe she’d even go  _ there. _ ”

“Oh come on, that wasn’t too bad.” Jongin says as he sits up, a teasing smile replacing his laugh. “At least your innocence is still intact.”

Kyungsoo throws a pillow at him which hits him square in the face. Despite the shame threatening to swallow him, he can’t help but snort at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Here he is, sitting on his bed and facing the heir of his family’s enemy, laughing at his mother’s absurd reactions to them faking being together. 

“You know, we should probably spend time together.” Jongin suddenly suggests, his arms leaning back on his bed as he looks at Kyungsoo beneath his lashes. 

“What?”

Jongin shrugs casually, almost too casually as he shifts around to fully sit up instead. “So that we can get to know each other.”

Kyungsoo feels a tug on his stomach, eyes immediately looking away from Jongin as he feels his hands clamming up.

“For the next double date.” Jongin adds, eyes looking at Kyungsoo imploringly. “So that we can prepare and act better.”

Kyungsoo, having looked back at him when he spoke again, nods curtly. “Yeah, we should.”

He fixes his gaze away from Jongin again and ignores the taller’s intent and curious stare and the slight twinge on his chest.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol had expressed their enjoyment when they ended the date. Jongin quickly suggested that they do another one, in which they will be the one to pick out the venue.

When Kyungsoo asked why he pitched in the suggestion, Jongin avoided his obvious fixed gaze and said “To stir up the media.”.

Kyungsoo spent the entire ride back to the dorms in silence, not exactly knowing why he feels so disheartened.

“So,” Jongin starts. Kyungsoo snaps out of his thoughts and settles back on his bed, propping up his laptop on his lap. “When are you free?”

Kyungsoo frowns at him. “You know I only have free time during Sundays.” 

“You should take a break sometimes,” Jongin says sullenly. “You study too much.”

“I need to be the best.” Kyungsoo answers tersely, pretending to be doing something with his laptop to avoid having to look at Jongin.

“Why do you need to be the best?” Jongin questions gently, voice sounding so curious and earnest that Kyungsoo can’t help but answer honestly.

“I need to be the best without my parents money to aid me. All my life, I’ve been trying to prove to myself that I’m someone other than my surname.” Kyungsoo snaps his mouth shut as soon as the words leave his mouth.

The air around the room suddenly turns somber and Kyungsoo hates every second of it. And so he decides to try and fill the silence instead. This way, Jongin won’t be able to talk about his sudden confession. “There’s also no such thing as studying too much.” Kyungsoo states haughtily, his nose turning up in the air. “Not for me, anyway.”

Jongin shakes his head and quickly stands up before plopping himself down on Kyungsoo’s bed.

Kyungsoo feels a flutter on his stomach, staring dumbfoundedly at Jongin.

“Taking a break is essential.” Jongin sincerely says, eyes appearing to be searching Kyungsoo’s face for something. “And even without you doing your best, you’re already more than your family name. You’re Kyungsoo. You’re vertically challenged and snarky, some may even call you cold and maybe even a bitch.” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes fondly, heart beating insanely fast.

“You’re Kyungsoo who pretends to dislike sweets but heavily binges on them when you’re stressed. You’re the Kyungsoo who pretends to be a tough adult but sleeps with a stuffed animal named Nini. You’re Do Kyungsoo and your surname doesn’t define who you are.” Jongin ends his little tirade with a soft ruffle to Kyungsoo’s head.

The taller of the two suddenly stands up and clears his throat before exclaiming that he’s going to go out on a run, refusing to meet Kyungsoo’s eyes.

As soon as he leaves, sudden realization overwhelms Kyungsoo’s mind.

“I’m falling in love with him.” He mutters softly into the empty room. “I’m falling in love with Kim Jongin.

  
  


————— oOo —————

With his latest realization, Kyungsoo has made a conscious effort to completely ignore Jongin as best as he can. He loads himself up with class projects, even going as far as volunteering for every report that needs to be done in order to bury himself in even more workloads. 

Of course it’s a futile effort anyway as Jongin takes it within his hands to take care of Kyungsoo while he submerges himself in school work. The infuriating idiot brings him coffee everyday, making sure to put in extra cream and sugar, he brings Kyungsoo lunch and dinner and refills Kyungsoo’s water bottle every hour. He even reminds him to pack up every night and sleep.

As comforting as it is to have someone care so much for him, Kyungsoo still feels a touch of panic at having someone be so openly warm towards him. He doesn’t know what to say in reply to Jongin’s kindness.

He knows that he should show his gratitude by saying thank you. It’s only polite, after all. But Kyungsoo feels as though a simple thank you isn’t  _ enough. _

Kyungsoo has never been good at talking comfortably with anyone outside of Baekhyun and his own family.

So when Sunday, their planned “getting to know each other”, comes around, Kyungsoo feels nervousness gripping his body, nothing but fear fueling him to keep on moving.

Kyungsoo grips his Nini hard, having brought the stuffed animal with him in Jongin's car, eyes looking out at the moving scenery outside.

Jongin hasn’t told him where they’re going yet and Kyungsoo’s already filled with dread. And excitement, but he’ll never admit to that.

The car suddenly stops in a recreational park with only a handful of people. Kyungsoo turns to Jongin with a questioning look, the taller only answers with a grin and pulls Kyungsoo’s car door open for him.

Kyungsoo steps out of the car and follows Jongin who immediately goes to a hut that has at least twenty different bicycles in front of it. Kyungsoo raises a brow, knowing full damn well that he can’t ride a bike to save his life. His parents never really saw the reason why he should try to learn one and so he never did.

Jongin waves at him to come close, holding a smaller bicycle compared to the other big ones he’s seen on the front. When he’s near enough, Jongin places the bike’s handle on his hands.

“Jongin, I can’t.” Kyungsoo says quietly, embarrassed with admitting that he doesn’t know how to ride a bike.

“Why? I specifically chose this place so there won’t be many people.” He answers earnestly. “It would be easier for you to relax. You deserve to take a break. Stop thinking about university for a day.”

Unable to control the sudden burst of warmth on his chest, Kyungsoo feels his gaze soften. He shakes his head before offering the bicycle back to Jongin. “I can’t. I don’t know how to.”

Jongin’s gapes at him, blinking and looking stupid for an entire minute before he snorts.

“I can’t believe the perfect Do Kyungsoo can’t ride a bike.”

“My parents never taught me because they thought that there was really no reason to!” Kyungsoo harrumphs, lips forming into a pout as he glowers at the taller.

“It’s fine, I’ll teach you.” Jongin places the bike on his hand on the side, leaning it on the wall before he walks ahead of Kyungsoo. “Come on, slow poke.” he calls out,

Huffing, Kyungsoo follows suit, dragging his own temporary bike along with him.

There’s really not that much to say about Jongin and Kyungsoo’s impromptu bicycle lessons except that Kyungsoo keeps on falling down, because he apparently sucks at balancing.

They decide to sit down beneath a tree for a bit, Kyungsoo nearly wheezing from the exhaustion. He drinks from the water that Jongin has bought for him earlier. Sweat drips down his temples and his back, he suddenly feels grateful that he listened to Jongin’s warning that he should wear something light.

Jongin stands up and walks away from Kyungsoo, hands trying to fish for something in his pocket. Kyungsoo gapes as the taller takes out a cigarette and what appears to be a small contraction to light it with.

“You smoke?” Kyungsoo asks, raising his voice a bit so that Jongin can hear him clearly. After all, he’s stood quite a few meters away from Kyungsoo.

“You never noticed?” Jongin asks back, bringing the cigarette to his lips as he lights it up. He keeps the small contraption inside his pockets and turns to look at Kyungsoo.

They must look crazy, talking to each other with a few meters between them.

“The papers never mentioned anything about you wanting to die early.” Kyungsoo retorts, hoping he hasn’t offended the taller with his little sarcastic comment.

Kyungsoo lets out a sigh of relief when Jongin throws his head back and laughs. Jongin’s laugh is always so free and careless. Kyungsoo wonders how he could laugh as if he has no care about the world.

When his laugh dies down, Jongin takes a steady inhale with his cigarette. “It calms me down.” Jongin calls out, removing the stick from his mouth and gives it a little wiggle, mouth releasing swirling patterns of cloudy smoke.

“Do you always feel the need to calm down?”

One side of Jongin’s lips tick upward. “No, I don’t always feel the need to smoke, Soo.” 

Kyungsoo clears his throat, face feeling warm from being caught at what he tried to imply and from the sudden nickname. He turns his head towards the few people milling about in the park.

Jongin’s statement from earlier rang true. There really are only a handful of people in the place, most of them calmly sitting down or having a small picnic with their families. Kyungsoo wonders what it would be like to sit down in a grassy blanket together with his parents, not doing anything but talking, eating and enjoying the time they spend together. 

Kyungsoo doesn’t remember the last time he’s ever told his parents he loves them. He also doesn’t remember the last time he hears them say it.

“Did you know that my last boyfriend broke up with me because I couldn’t tell him I love him despite the fact that we’ve been together for a year.” Kyungsoo blurts out, eyes trained on an old couple talking on a bench.

“Why?” Jongin asks, voice sounding genuinely curious instead of shocked or appalled.

“The concept feels foreign to me,” Kyungsoo explains. “My parents and I never really throw those words around. Admittedly, they’re also not the warmest parents which is why affection and warmth is never really my strong suit.”

“Is it hard for you to say it?” Jongin inquires, gaze lasered in on Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo snaps his head towards Jongin, he’s thrown completely off guard with the question because of how accurate it is to how he feels about saying affectionate works.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo starts before looking away again. “It’s like something is lodged on my throat every time I try to say something that I wanna say.” His brows furrow, unconsciously biting his lower lip. “It’s almost like my body is a cage that’s preventing me from saying what I feel.”

Jongin nods his head in understanding. Opens his mouth before he closes it again.

They remain in silence for a few minutes, both of them basking in the comfortable silence that’s occurred. Not really in a hurry to break it.

“I do absurd things and involve myself in scandals so that I can appear on the media.” Jongin suddenly says, voice steady as he continues to inhale from his cigarette.

“Why?” Kyungsoo throws the same question that Jongin has asked him earlier.

“It’s the only way my parents will ever pay attention to me.” Jongin answers directly.

Their gazes lock together, both breathing in a new sense of understanding for each other.

With that, Do Kyungsoo learns how to bike and leaves the park with little scrapes scattered all over his person. His body physically feels tired but his mind roars alive with the hot warmth blooming across his chest towards his stomach with the excitement of having learned something new.

  
  


————— oOo —————

Baekhyun called Kyungsoo and told him he’s sick and now their second double date is cancelled. Kyungsoo pushes down the feeling of frustration and disappointment and wishes his best friend a faster recovery.

He turns to Jongin who’s already staring at him with both brows raised, seemingly already expecting him to say something.

Kyungsoo sighs. “Baekhyun says he’s sick. The double date is cancelled.” Kyungsoo narrates, forcing his voice to sound upbeat and less discouraged than how he feels.

Jongin smiles. “Let’s still go anyway.”

Kyungsoo hides a smile and as nonchalantly as he can, says: “Sure, why not? I’m free anyway.”

Jongin drives the both of them to the venue of the date with Kyungsoo’s eyes covered in a piece of cloth, tied together on the back of his head.

Kyungsoo feels nothing but his nervousness threatening to jump out of his skin, tiny nerves that he didn’t know existed now tingling all across his body.

Kyungsoo feels the car stop, Jongin whispering a quiet: “Wait here.” before he hears a car door open and slam shut, followed by another car door opening, now sounding much closer to his ear. He belatedly realizes that it was from his side of the car when he feels a warm tentative touch on the back of his hand.

Jongin.

Unconsciously gripping the warm hand, Kyungsoo tries to follow where he feels like Jongin is pulling him towards, throat burning up and a sudden need to vomit from the nerves.

“Where are we?” Kyungsoo whispers, completely sure that he can hear something related to water in the background. 

“Wait and see.” Jongin answers, mouth so close to Kyungsoo’s ears that he feels his warm breath brushing across his ears.

Jongin continues to guide him for a few seconds before stopping, Kyungsoo could almost feel as if he’s standing on something swaying. That, or he’s gone completely insane from the nerves.

The taller removes the cloth from Kyungsoo’s eyes as he softly whispers near Kyungsoo’s ear. “Open your eyes.”

Kyungsoo does. 

He opens his eyes and sees the stretch of the ocean lying beneath the dark sky that’s lightly dusted with stars. He’s standing on what seems to be a yacht, fairy lights strewn across the railings carelessly as if the one that put it there has no tact for decorating. A table with two seats perched in front of the view, an unopened bottle of wine and a properly set up plates, glasses, and utensils.

“I tried my best to make it look pretty but I really don’t think I did a great job.” Jongin says meekly, seemingly embarrassed at how he placed the fairy lights with no strategy.

“I love it,” Kyungsoo croaks out. “It’s beautiful.” He whispered softly, throat suddenly lodged tight as if something was stuck on it, his eyes burning up.

Jongin grins at him before he gestures towards a seat. Kyungsoo sat down, silently wondering why there seemed to be only one table when this was supposedly prepared for a double date in mind.

“Here,” Jongin says as he takes the wine and fills up Kyungsoo’s glass first before filling up his own. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” Kyungsoo mutters, taking a small sip, still unable to form any coherent sentences.

“I rented the yacht for a night,” Jongin explains, raising a hand. As soon as he does, a server comes in and plates with food in front of them. “I was planning for it to be a cruise ship but you have a class tomorrow and won’t be free for more than one day.” He explains further, talking unstoppably, almost as if he’s blabbering to fill in on the silence.

Kyungsoo realizes he hasn’t really said anything substantial yet and clears his throat.

“It’s a shame that Baekhyun and Chanyeol couldn’t come. They would’ve loved this.” Kyungsoo forces out, hoping to God his face doesn’t show that he thinks it’s not a shame. At all.

“Yeah,” Jongin quietly mutters, brows furrowed as he seems to be thinking hard of something. “About that…” Jongin looks up at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo meets his gaze head on, the air around his lungs suddenly seems lacking as he finds it harder and harder to breathe by the second.

“Nevermind.” Jongin says before looking down at the food in front of him, brows still meeting together.

“What is it?” Kyungsoo asks. When he receives no answer, Kyungsoo reaches out and gently tips Jongin’s chin up so that he would meet his eyes, mimicking what Jongin has repeatedly done to him.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Jongin asks, voice borderline breaking, eyes staring so intently at Kyungsoo’s face, almost as if he’s looking for something. 

Kyungsoo stops breathing. His mind races to so many things that Jongin could be pertaining to but one of them shouts loudly at him in particular. He’s almost a hundred percent sure that he knows what Jongin is asking, could taste the word “yes” on the tip of his tongue, could feel his heart threatening to burst from the seams.

_ But what if you’re wrong? _ Something in him asks and suddenly, a feeling far greater than the overwhelming sense of love that he was previously feeling overtakes his senses. Fear.

And of course, the overwhelming sense that he feels is love. Kyungsoo has always been aware, at the back of his mind, that he is feeling love. That when he looks at Jongin’s crooked yet charming smile, he falls completely more in love.

“Yes.” Kyungsoo says, voice cracking before he looks away. “I think you’re thinking that the night is beautiful and we’re both alone. You should dance. This way, you won’t be embarrassed if you do badly.” He continues.

Jongin stares at him blankly for a beat before he throws Kyungsoo a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He stands and holds out his hand.

Kyungsoo grabs it and they dance.

  
  


————— oOo —————

Kyungsoo twists and turns, eyes closed in a conscious effort but completely helpless and unable to turn off his screaming mind.

Lately, he’s been finding it harder and harder to fall asleep. Thoughts constantly filled with the Jongin’s question from yesterday night. One that he desperately wants to ignore.

“Hey,” Jongin’s voice suddenly resonates in their dark room. “You awake?”

Kyungsoo lays silently for a while before sighing softly. “Can’t sleep too?”

“Want to head out for a walk?” Jongin asks as an answer. Kyungsoo nods once and Jongin must have been looking at him in the dark before he immediately stands up and grabs them both their own respective coats.

He hands one to Kyungsoo, and puts on his own before they walk out of the dorm and into the night.

“Did you enjoy yesterday night?” Jongin breaks the silence and asks, walking only a foot away from Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo throws him a smile and nods. “I did. Was surprised with how amazing you are at dancing. I was totally expecting you to be pants at it.”

Jongin laughs rasply, his shoulders bumping on Kyungsoo’s. “I told you, I can dance, didn’t I?”

Kyungsoo manages a dry smile before he looks down at his feet, watching as he steps one foot in front of the other. 

He vividly remembers Jongin’s hands gripping his waist tightly, face so close to Kyungsoo’s that he can almost feel his breath.

It felt like Jongin was the only thing that mattered to him as they swayed to ‘In the Mood’. He still feels that now.

He needs to end this thing with Jongin before it goes on any further.

Kyungsoo feels his heartbeat slowing down, in contrast to its usual speeding up. His hand feels numb and cold, fear gripping his heart, seemingly paralyzing him and yet at the same time, keeps him moving. He tries to even out his breathing as he calls out a soft “Jongin, can we go somewhere to talk?” 

Jongin hums, surprised that Kyungsoo’s the one to break the silence and initiate a conversation. He gestures his arms forward, indicating that Kyungsoo shou lead the way.

And so they walked in the darkness of the campus, again wearing nothing but their pyjamas and their coats. Soon, they arrive on the dark, cold, and empty soccer field.

Kyungsoo stops in a seat in the bleachers, hovering over the seat as if unsure whether to sit or not. Jongin waits for him to move and do something, slowly starting to worry about Kyungsoo’s tense movements and unusual bouts of silence.

Usually, when silence reigns between them, it’s comfortable and relaxing. The following nights, however, seem to only be filled with tense ones, so many things left unspoken.

Before his throat could close up, Kyungsoo forces out the words that are dying to come out. “I want to break up.”

Jongin feels his entire body freeze, body feeling cold even with his warm coat. “You can’t break up with me.” he answers desperately, panic already settling in his bones. His eyes immediately asking for Kyungsoo to look back at him.

Kyungsoo looks up, startled at the almost violent reaction.

“Why?” Kyungsoo’s one worded question leaves a heavy silence between them.

He suddenly desperately wants to know if he’s reading the situation right or if it’s just his wishful thinking.

Kyungsoo stares hard at Jongin, gauging him for something. He doesn’t know, exactly, how he wants him to react, but he’s watching Jongin intensely. Hoping he gives away something. Anything.

“Just because.” Jongin answers, voice low and rough, eyes downcast and seemingly unable to meet Kyungsoo’s eyes.

“That’s not a proper reason, Jongin.” Kyungsoo says, voice nearly breaking. “I can’t do this anymore.” 

“Can’t do what anymore?” Jongin asks, eyes tentatively looking up at Kyungsoo’s face. He looks like he’s looking for something on Kyungsoo’s face.

Searching for something.

Almost as if he’s searching for the same thing that Kyungsoo is looking for.

Kyungsoo’s heartbeat slows down almost drastically, his mind screaming so many thoughts at him, but one thing seems to completely overtake the others, just like how it did that night.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Jongin asks softly, slowly inching a step towards Kyungsoo. 

“No.” Kyungsoo answers, his mind racing and his stomach churning. “But there’s something I want to ask.”

When Jongin nods as if to say “Go ahead.”, Kyungsoo suddenly finds it hard to breathe. “Are you—” he clears his throat, taking a step forward, mindful of Jongin’s watchful gaze. “—thinking of what I’m thinking?”

Kyungsoo throws Jongin’s words that night back at him.

Jongin looks at him even more intently. Eyes still searching, his face looking confused and unsure before it settles on something else entirely.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking you’re thinking?” Jongin asks, a new emotion plastered on his face, hope evidently lacing his voice.

Kyungsoo almost laughs at the absurdity of their words. It seems so childish, to banter off like kids, keeping each other guessing. Kyungsoo settles for a small smile instead.

Jongin slowly closes the gap between them and holds Kyungsoo’s chin as he gently tips Kyungsoo’s head back, so gently it’s as if he’s afraid of cutting through the air.

Kyungsoo nods once. “Yes.” he whispers so softly that the word dies out into nothing but a croak.

Jongin seems to understand him because his smile turns full blown. The new emotion, now more open on his face. The sheer want in his glassy eyes.

That’s what it is.

The raw want is now openly on Jongin’s face and Kyungsoo feels his eyes burning, the world tuning out because now there’s only Jongin smiling at him like he knows what Kyungsoo is feeling. Like he sees it in Kyungsoo’s face just as much as Kyungsoo sees it in him.

His emotions, he finds it hard to convey, and yet with Jongin, he feels as though he has no need to say it aloud.

He doesn’t need to. He has no need to because Jongin knows and Jongin feels the same way too. 

But Kyungsoo says it anyway.

“I’m in love with you.”

Jongin bends a little bit and softly presses his lips against Kyungsoo’s.

  
  


————— oOo —————

  
  


Kyungsoo wakes up to a kiss on his forehead. Smiling softly, he slowly opens his eyes and looks at Jongin beneath his lashes.

Jongin leaves the bed and heads for the bathroom, Kyungsoo following suit.

They both situate themselves in front of the mirror, side by side, as Jongin takes the cup that holds their toothbrush together and brings it down so that Kyungsoo can reach it easier.

Kyungsoo smiles gratefully, marvelling at the contrast of their relationship when they first started sharing a room compared to now.

Jongin finishes up with brushing his teeth and turns to Kyungsoo, waiting for him to finish up. As soon as he’s done, Jongin places his hands on Kyungsoo’s waist and pulls him flush on his chest.

Kyungsoo smiles as he feels Jongin dropping a kiss on his head, the taller whispering something softly to him. “I love you, Do Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo looks up, hooks his arms on Jongin’s neck and pulls him down, kissing him softly.

“I love you so much, Kim Jongin.”


End file.
